Tape dispenser

Abstract: A tape dispenser (10) comprising a body (20) having an engagement portion to engage a salient (15) standing above a surface (12), means (38,39) to mount a reel (41) of tape (59) for rotation relative to the body (20) and guide means (44,50) to guide the tape (59) so as to be dispensed from the body (20) laterally adjacent said salient portion (15).

Description: This invention relates to a tape dispenser for dispensing tape from a reel of tape. The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with a tape dispenser for dispensing tape onto a surface closely adjacent to a salient standing above the surface. For example, to dispense masking tape onto part of a window which is closely adjacent to a frame of the window to prevent accidental marking of the window during painting of the frame. Tape dispensers of various types are known, as shown for example in U.S. Patents 3125263 which corresponds to the preamble of claim 1, and 3140217 to Harbour, and U.S. Patent 3814643 to Wagner. Such dispensers, whilst being suitable for some purposes, present difficulties when it is desired to dispense tape onto a surface closely adjacent to an upstanding salient, and furthermore, such dispensers are prone to lateral movement during tape dispensing, with the result that the tape may not be dispensed in a sufficiently linear manner. An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved tape dispenser and more particularly a tape dispenser for dispensing tape onto a surface closely adjacent to a salient standing above the surface. This object is achieved by a tape dispenser according to claim 1. As a result the tape is dispensed onto the surface laterally adjacent said salient. The means to mount the reel of tape may comprise reel engagement means adapted to engage with the inwardly facing surface of a reel of tape to guide the reel of tape for rotation about the central axis of the reel of tape. The body may comprise a hollow, relatively thin walled box within which said reel of tape may be mounted. The body may comprise a base part and a lid part releasably secured together. The resilient biasing means may comprise a plurality of leaf springs anchored at one end to the body and the leaf springs each comprise a tongue which is free from the body except at one end where it is integral with the body. The tapered guide means may comprise a tapered roller rotatable about an axis which extends away from the engagement portion and over which the tape is passed. The body may be provided with two sets of said guide means and guide surface at opposite ends of the body so that the tape may be dispensed, alternately, from opposite ends of the body. An example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIGURE 1 is a side view of a tape dispenser embodying the invention; FIGURE 2 is a view of a base part of the dispenser of Figure 1 taken in the direction of the arrow A but with a lid part removed; FIGURE 3 is a view of the lid part of the dispenser of Figure 1 taken in the direction of the arrow B but with the base part removed; FIGURE 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figures 2 and 3 showing the base and lid parts assembled; FIGURE 5 is a cross-section on the line 5-5 of Figure 2 to an enlarged scale; FIGURE 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 3; FIGURE 7 is a perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of the catch of the dispenser of Figures 1 to 6; FIGURE 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Figures 2 & 3 but showing the parts assembled and to an enlarged scale, and FIGURE 9 is an exploded fragmentary perspective view showing a tape dispenser embodying the invention in use. Referring first to Figure 9, a tape dispenser is indicated generally at 10 and is shown dispensing tape 11 onto a surface 12 such as a window pane supported in a frame 13. In order to prevent accidental marking of the window pane 12 with paint when painting the window frame 13 the tape 11 which, in the present example comprises paper masking tape provided with a self-adhesive coating on the side thereof in contact with the surface 12 is dispensed from the dispenser 10 so as to abut with its one edge 14 a salient 15 provided by a shoulder of a rebate 16 of the frame 13. It will be appreciated that it is desirable for the tape 11 to be dispensed so that it can conveniently be applied to the surface 12 with the edge 14 in contact with or very close to the salient 15 and the tape dispenser is constructed and arranged to facilitate this. Referring now to Figures 1 to 8, the tape dispenser 10 comprises a body 20 having a base part 21 and a lid part 22 made as mouldings in suitable synthetic plastics material. As best shown in Figures 4, 7 and 8 the base and lid parts are releasably secured together by means of a pair of tongues 23 provided on the lid part 22 which are received in openings 24 provided on the base part 21 together with a resilient catch means 25 comprising a resiliently displaceable catch 26 formed integrally with the lid and having a manually engageable portion 27 to permit shoulder 26 a of the catch 26 to be displaced from retaining engagement with abutment parts 26 b adjacent an aperture 28 provided on the base part 21. The base part 21 has a generally planar side wall 30 having a straight bottom edge 31 from which a bottom edge wall 32 extends at right angles. Extending perpendicular to the edge 31 at opposite ends are perpendicular portions 33 of the side wall 30 which terminate at planar upwardly and inwardly inclined portions 34 which merge with a part circular portion 35. A correspondingly shaped edge wall 36 is provided throughout the extent of the portions 33, 34 and 35 and this edge wall 36 is provided with the hereinbefore mentioned catch opening 28 whilst the catch openings 24 are provided in the bottom edge wall 32. The side wall 30 has an inwardly facing surface 37 from which there extends reel mounting means comprising three part circular ribs 38 having an outer part circular surface 39 for abutment with the inwardly facing surface 40 (usually on a cardboard former) of a tape reel 41 housed within the body 20 to guide the tape reel 41 for rotation about a central axis 42 thereof. The wall 30 is also provided with resilient biasing means to engage the tape reel 41 and bias it away from the wall 30 and towards an engagement portion 43 provided by an outwardly facing surface of the lid part 22, as hereinafter to be described in more detail. The resilient biasing means comprises three tongues 44 which are formed integrally with the remainder of the wall 30 at their one ends 45 but which are separated from the wall 30 throughout the rest of their extent by means of a generally U-shaped slot 46 and in addition the tongues 44 are inclined towards the hereinbefore mentioned engagement portion 43 from their ends 45 to a position adjacent their free ends where they are inclined away from the engagement portion 43 as shown at 46 and 47 respectively in Figure 4. As best shown in Figures 2 and 5, the base part 21 is provided with a guide roller 50. The guide roller 50, as best shown in Figure 5, has an external surface 51 of frusto-conical configuration having a smaller diameter end 52 spaced furthest from the wall 30. The roller 50 has a central boss portion 53 joined to the frusto-conical part 51 by a web part 54 and the boss part 53 has a central cylindrical bore 55 which is mounted for rotation on a spigot 56 upstanding from the wall 30. The wall 30 also has a cylindrical shoulder formation 57 upstanding therefrom for engagement with a part 58 of the frusto-conical part 50 of the roller so that the roller is mounted thereby for rotation about an axis X-X which is perpendicular to the wall 30. As shown in Figure 2, the tape 59 is fed from the reel 41 past one of the rollers 50, depending upon the end of the dispenser from which it is desired to dispense tape, and is then discharged from the body through an opening 60 provided by a gap in the bottom edge wall 32. The tape 59 is engaged by the frusto-conical surface part 51 of the roller and this serves to urge the tape 59 away from the wall 30. The lid 22 comprises a generally planar wall 70 having an outwardly facing surface which provides the abutment portion 43 and an inwardly facing surface 71 which provides an abutment means against which the reel of tape 41 is urged by the fingers 44. The portion of the wall 70 engaged by the reel 41 and by the tape 59 in its path for discharge is made of minimum thickness consistent with necessary strength and is provided by a recess 72 provided in the surface 71. Around the periphery of the wall 70 is provided a shallow rib 73 having a groove 74 therein to receive the upper end of the edge wall 36 of the base part 21. Adjacent the bottom edge 75 of the lid part 22 is provided an upstanding flange 77 which carries the hereinbefore mentioned catches 23. The portions 78 of the lid part 22 adjacent the opening 60 are provided with a tapered guide surface 79 having its minimum thickness at the outer end 80 thereof. In use, the dispenser 20 is held in the hand of a user orientated so that the outwardly facing surface 43 of the lid part 22, which comprises an engagement portion, abuts the salient 15 provided by the shoulder 16 of the frame 13 and the dispenser is pressed against the salient, in addition the bottom edge wall 32, which comprises a further engagement portion, is pressed against the surface 12. Because of the combined effect of the fingers 44, tapered rollers 50 and guide surface 79, the tape 11 is dispensed so that it is very closely adjacent to the salient 15 as it leaves the dispenser and so can easily be manipulated onto the surface 12 in contact with, or very closely adjacent to, the salient 15, thereby facilitating masking operations. The end of the dispenser from which the tape is dispensed can be chosen by a user in accordance with whether or not the user is left-handed or right-handed and also in accordance with the presence of obstructions at the end of a run. For example, in a conventional rectangular window frame a user may apply tape over a desired extent of window with the tape being dispensed from one end of the dispenser starting, for example, at the top of a vertical of the frame and then the lid can be removed by manipulating the catch 26 and the tape simply disengaged with one pair of tapered rollers and engaged with the other pair of tapered rollers so as to be discharged from the other end of the dispenser to enable tape to be applied to the remainder of the window adjacent the opposite end of the frame.

Claims: A tape dispenser (10) comprising a body (20) having a first engagement portion (43) to engage a salient standing above a surface, a second engagement portion (32) at least part of which is adapted to engage said surface and extending perpendicularly away from the first engagement portion (43), reel mounting means (38) to mount a reel of tape (41) for rotation relative to the body (20), guide means (50) to guide the tape so as to be dispensed from the body (20) laterally adjacent to the first engagement portion (43), at least one resilient biasing means (44) to engage the reel of tape (41) and resiliently bias the reel of tape towards the first engagement portion (43) and bias the reel of tape into engagement with an abutment means which is laterally adjacent the first engagement portion (43); the first engagement portion (43) comprising an outwardly facing surface of a wall (70) of the body (20), the abutment means comprising an inwardly facing surface (71) of said wall (70) of the body 20), the second engagement portion (32) being provided by an edge wall of the body (20), and the tape being dispensed from the body (20) through an opening (60) in said second engagement portion (32); the dispenser (10) further comprising a guide surface (79) being disposed laterally adjacent to the first engagement portion (43) and facing in a direction opposite to a direction in which the first engagement portion (43) faces and being located in the tape discharge path adjacent the opening (60); the guide surface (79) comprising a portion of said abutment means, said guide surface (79) being tapered and having an outer end of said guide surface (79) spaced laterally closer to the first engagement portion (43) than an inner end of said guide surface (79); characterised in that the tape discharge path extends from the reel of tape (41) to the opening (60) via the guide means (50), in that the guide means (50) is disposed within the body and in use, guides the tape so as to be dispensed from the body (20) through the opening (60), in that the guide means (50) is disposed adjacent the guide surface (79) and is tapered to urge the tape towards the first engagement portion (43) as the tape is dispensed, and in that the guide surface (79) is adapted to engage an edge of the tape as the tape is dispensed. A dispenser (10) according to claim 1 wherein the means (38) to mount the reel of tape comprises reel engagement means adapted to engage with the inwardly facing surface (40) of a reel of tape (41) to guide the reel of tape (41) for rotation about the central axis (42) of the reel of tape (41). A dispenser (10) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the body (20) comprises a hollow, relatively thin walled box (21, 22) within which said reel of tape (41) is mounted. A dispenser (10) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the body (20) comprises a base part (21) and a lid part (22) releasably secured together. A dispenser (10) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the resilient biasing means (44) comprises a plurality of leaf springs anchored at one end (45) to the body and the leaf springs each comprise a tongue which is free from the body except at one end (45) where it is integral with the body. A dispenser (10) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the tapered guide means (50) comprises a tapered roller rotatable about an axis (X-X) which extends away from the first engagement portion (43) and over which the tape is passed. A dispenser (10) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the body (20) is provided with two sets of said guide means (50) and guide surface (79) at opposite ends of the body (20) so that the tape may be dispensed, alternately, from opposite ends of the body (20).

Inventors: PENNELL JACK FRANK, PENNELL, JACK FRANK
Applicants: RYFORD LTD, RYFORD LIMITED
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B65H35
IPC codes: B65H35